Residents to hear Erie schools plan

IF YOU GO

The Erie School District will hold a public meeting on the district's facilities master plan on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at East High School, 1001 Atkins St.

This is an April 11, 2012 file photo of Erie School District Superintendent Jay Badams. He was photographed in the Erie Times-News studio in Erie.GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

The picture of what the Erie School District could look like in the not-to-distant future is getting a little clearer.

Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams will hold a town-hall style meeting on the district's facilities master plan on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at East High School, 1001 Atkins St.

Vern McKissick, an architect and educational planner with Harrisburg-based McKissick Associates, will present the results of the third phase of a facilities study and offer recommendations based on those results.

The presentation will include enrollment projections, possible timelines for any capital projects and three options to better utilize the district's facilities through the year 2022.

After an overview of the planning process and study findings, town-hall participants will break into small groups to share feedback and suggestions on the options.

The idea is to make the best use of the district's buildings, some of which date to the 1930s, said Matt Cummings, the district's director of communications.

"For the past 75 years, many of our schools have received, at best, routine maintenance and repair, especially in the last 10, 15 years. The classroom space and the learning environments are inadequate for modern learning and technology and the mechanical systems are outdated and inefficient.

"Our students need and deserve better," Cummings said.

The plan would help the district achieve equity and parity, Cummings said.

"At one school or another, you see very different learning environments," Cummings said. "Student have very different opportunities as a result of those environments."

Considering neighboring districts, "our students deserve whatever opportunities our counterparts in suburban Erie County and rural Erie County have in terms of their learning environments that are up to the educational specifications of today," he said.

The Erie School Board would vote on whether to accept the strategic plan in November. Cummings stressed that the plan is just that. The district needs a plan to attract funding, he said.

"Accepting the plan does not mean this happens," he said. "It's a plan we can take out to identify funding. It's a living and breathing document."

ERICA ERWIN can be reached at 870-1846 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNerwin.

IF YOU GO

The Erie School District will hold a public meeting on the district's facilities master plan on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at East High School, 1001 Atkins St.